In The Been Trees, Marietta Greer is a young girl who grew up in the rural Kentucky community of Pittman County. When she was little she told her mother to call her Miss Marietta because that is what she was always told to call everyone else. From that day on everyone called her Missy. Missy had two goals when she was growing up, to not get pregnant, and to graduate high school. These are two things that were very uncommon in girls her age. Missy was a very confidant young lady and with her standards set high, she achieved her goals. This is when Missy began her new life.
Missy left Pittman County in her early twenties to get a better life. She didn’t want to be stuck in a small town, and do nothing with her life like most people she knew. She bought a ’55 Volkswagen, with the money she saved from her job at the hospital, and headed west. She didn’t know where she was going to end up and she didn’t really care. As she traveled she decided she needed a new name to go along with her new life. She told herself that when she ran out of gas she would look for a sign and that would be her new name. As she coasted by Taylorville on nothing but fumes, her new name became Taylor Greer. While she continued her journey she came across a baby Indian girl, and decided to do her best in taking care of her. She named the baby Turtle, and the two began their new lives together.
The two of them landed in Tucson, Arizona, and decided it was a great place to begin their new lives. Taylor met Lou Ann and her baby and the four of them began living together. Lou Ann soon became a very important part of both Taylor and Turtle’s lives. She was also a single mother who was there when Taylor needed a friend. Lou Ann helped Taylor get her first job in Tucson at Jesus is Lord Tires. Although Taylor has been petrified of tires all her life, she was a strong woman and overcomes this fear. Mattie, the owner of Jesus is Lord Tires, shows Taylor a whole new world.
Mattie, along with owning Jesus is Lord Tires, runs a sanctuary for refugees from South America. She introduces Taylor to two of them and they teach her about their own journey. They have had to struggle to get where they are now, just like Taylor had. They were considered “illegal”, so when Taylor took them with her on the way to Oklahoma she was putting her own life in danger. Taylor was headed there to get custody of Turtle. This transport was part of Taylor’s new independence. She wanted to help anyone she could, just like her friends had done for her when she first arrived in Tucson.
By the end of the novel Taylor had gone through many changes. She was not afraid of tires, she was a loving mother, and had a nice little family with Lou Ann and her son. She was a very confident and independent young woman. In this novel Taylor showed young girls how to overcome the pressures of society. She got out of her home town without pregnancy when no one believed she could. Taylor also followed her heart no matter what. She never really had a plan, just did what she thought would be best. The Bean Trees shows readers to go for the goals and not let anyone or anything get in their way.
Missy left Pittman County in her early twenties to get a better life. She didn’t want to be stuck in a small town, and do nothing with her life like most people she knew. She bought a ’55 Volkswagen, with the money she saved from her job at the hospital, and headed west. She didn’t know where she was going to end up and she didn’t really care. As she traveled she decided she needed a new name to go along with her new life. She told herself that when she ran out of gas she would look for a sign and that would be her new name. As she coasted by Taylorville on nothing but fumes, her new name became Taylor Greer. While she continued her journey she came across a baby Indian girl, and decided to do her best in taking care of her. She named the baby Turtle, and the two began their new lives together.
The two of them landed in Tucson, Arizona, and decided it was a great place to begin their new lives. Taylor met Lou Ann and her baby and the four of them began living together. Lou Ann soon became a very important part of both Taylor and Turtle’s lives. She was also a single mother who was there when Taylor needed a friend. Lou Ann helped Taylor get her first job in Tucson at Jesus is Lord Tires. Although Taylor has been petrified of tires all her life, she was a strong woman and overcomes this fear. Mattie, the owner of Jesus is Lord Tires, shows Taylor a whole new world.
Mattie, along with owning Jesus is Lord Tires, runs a sanctuary for refugees from South America. She introduces Taylor to two of them and they teach her about their own journey. They have had to struggle to get where they are now, just like Taylor had. They were considered “illegal”, so when Taylor took them with her on the way to Oklahoma she was putting her own life in danger. Taylor was headed there to get custody of Turtle. This transport was part of Taylor’s new independence. She wanted to help anyone she could, just like her friends had done for her when she first arrived in Tucson.
By the end of the novel Taylor had gone through many changes. She was not afraid of tires, she was a loving mother, and had a nice little family with Lou Ann and her son. She was a very confident and independent young woman. In this novel Taylor showed young girls how to overcome the pressures of society. She got out of her home town without pregnancy when no one believed she could. Taylor also followed her heart no matter what. She never really had a plan, just did what she thought would be best. The Bean Trees shows readers to go for the goals and not let anyone or anything get in their way.